Bank’s general manager loses ₹1.35 crore in online investment fraud

A Bank of India manager lost ₹1.35 crore in a cyber fraud after being lured by fake investment schemes and manipulated apps. Police are investigating.

MUMBAI: A 45-year-old assistant general manager of Bank of India fell victim to a cyber fraud and lost the ₹1.35 crore she thought she was investing. Police said she was made to download two mobile applications by the fraudsters, which showed her false profits. The Cyber West Police registered a cheating case on Thursday.

Bank’s general manager loses ₹1.35 crore in online investment fraud

According to the police, the complainant lives with her family in Juhu. She told the police that she was added to a WhatsApp group by a person who went by ‘Sovit Dwivedi’ on December 9, 2024. Dwivedi sent information about share market investment schemes and tips in the group chat. After a few minutes of observing the group chat interactions, she was attracted to invest and earn huge money from trading.

Two women, who told the complainant they were Dwivedi’s associate, contacted her and made her install two apps in her mobile phone - QuantsAIS and Angel One. The accused women took the victim’s Aadhar number provided her with a user ID and password to operate an account. The victim then invested by transferring her money on different bank accounts provided by frauds, said a police officer.

As per the FIR, the victim made more than 20 transactions between December 10 to January 21, during which time she transferred over 1.35 crore to the cyber frauds. As she sent the money, the apps she downloaded displayed ‘shares’ she purchased, and the ‘profits’ of the invested amount were amounting to ₹6 crore on the app. However, when she tried to withdraw the amount, she found that she could not. On contacting the customer service executive, and requesting them to transfer her profits, she was met with unconvincing excuses. She then asked for refund of her initial investment sum. After this, the frauds refused to return her money and began avoiding her calls.

The Cyber West Police Station registered a case on Thursday against unknown persons for cheating among other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.